Banabhatta
Encyclopedia
Bāṇabhaṭṭa also known as Bāṇa, was a Sanskrit scholar and poet of India
. He was the Asthana Kavi (Court Poet) in the court of King Harsha
vardhana, who reigned in the years c. 606–647 CE in north India. Bāna's principal works include a biography of Harsha, the Harṣacarita and one of the world's earliest novels, Kādambari
(Kādambari is the name of the heroine of the novel). Bāṇa died before finishing the novel and it was completed by his son (Pulinda in some manuscripts), which is known as the Uttarabhāga of the novel. The other works attributed to him are the and a drama, the .
) in a Maga Brahmin family of Vātsyāyana
gotra
in Current District of Chhapra . Chitrabhānu expired when he was fourteen, Rājadevi having expired even earlier. After the death of his father, Bāṇa led a wandering life for some period but later came back to his native village. Here, on a summer day, on receiving a letter from Krishna, a cousin of King Harsha he met the king while he was camping near the town of Manitara. After receiving him with mock signs of anger, the king showed him much favour.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He was the Asthana Kavi (Court Poet) in the court of King Harsha
Harsha
Harsha or Harsha Vardhana or Harshvardhan was an Indian emperor who ruled northern India from 606 to 647 AD. He was the son of Prabhakara Vardhana and younger brother of Rajya Vardhana, a king of Thanesar, Haryana...
vardhana, who reigned in the years c. 606–647 CE in north India. Bāna's principal works include a biography of Harsha, the Harṣacarita and one of the world's earliest novels, Kādambari
Kadambari
Kādambari is a romantic novel in Sanskrit. It was substantially composed by Bānabhatta in the first half of the 7th century, who did not survive to see it through completion. The novel was completed by Banabhatta's son Bhushanabhatta, according to the plan laid out by his late father...
(Kādambari is the name of the heroine of the novel). Bāṇa died before finishing the novel and it was completed by his son (Pulinda in some manuscripts), which is known as the Uttarabhāga of the novel. The other works attributed to him are the and a drama, the .
Life
A detailed account regarding his ancestry and early life can be reconstructed from the introductory verses attached to the Kādambari and the first two ucchāvasas of the Harṣacarita, while the circumstances behind the composition of the Harṣacarita are described in the third ucchāvasa of the text.Early life
Bāna was born to Chitrabhānu and Rājadevi in the village of Pritikuta on the banks of the Hiraṇyavāhu (the present day Son RiverSon River
Son River of central India is the largest of the Ganges' southern tributaries. A British 1850s diary shows that the river was written in English as Soane.-Course:...
) in a Maga Brahmin family of Vātsyāyana
Vatsyayana
Vātsyāyana is the name of a Hindu philosopher in the Vedic tradition who is believed to have lived during time of the Gupta Empire in India...
gotra
Gotra
In the Hindu society, the term Gotra broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor. Panini defines gotra for grammatical purposes as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram , which means "the word gotra denotes the progeny beginning with the son's son"...
in Current District of Chhapra . Chitrabhānu expired when he was fourteen, Rājadevi having expired even earlier. After the death of his father, Bāṇa led a wandering life for some period but later came back to his native village. Here, on a summer day, on receiving a letter from Krishna, a cousin of King Harsha he met the king while he was camping near the town of Manitara. After receiving him with mock signs of anger, the king showed him much favour.